Everything I Set Up After Launching My Website — And Why You Should Do It Too

By tawkir on November 27, 2025

Categories: DevOps & Cloud Deployment

A beginner-friendly guide for new developers, bloggers, and first-time website owners

Launching a new website feels exciting — but also a bit confusing. When I launched my site TawkirJournal.com, I spent a few days setting up the important technical things that every website should have: sitemap, robots.txt, RSS feed, privacy policy, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and a consent banner.

If you're hosting your first site, or you're a developer putting a project online, these setups will help your site grow, stay visible on Google, and remain compliant with modern privacy requirements.

In this post, I’m sharing what I did, why they matter, and how they help you.

1. Sitemap — Telling Google What Your Website Has

A sitemap is a simple XML file that lists all the pages of your website.

Think of it as a directory for search engines. It helps Google and Bing understand your site structure faster.

Why it’s useful

  • Search engines discover your pages quicker

  • Important for new websites with little external links

  • Helps Google understand updates or new blog posts

  • Improves overall crawl efficiency

My experience

After hosting my blog, I generated a sitemap and placed it at:


 

https://tawkirjournal.com/sitemap.xml

Once I added it to Google Search Console, Google began indexing my pages faster.

2. robots.txt — Telling Search Engines What They Can and Can’t Access

robots.txt is a small text file at the root of your website.
It tells search engine crawlers which parts they can visit.

Why it's used

  • Helps control what search engines crawl

  • Prevents unnecessary server load

  • Protects admin or private pages

  • Works together with sitemap to guide crawlers

My experience

I added a basic robots.txt like this:


 

User-agent: * Allow: / Sitemap: https://tawkirjournal.com/sitemap.xml

It’s simple, but enough for a blog site.

3. RSS Feed — Helping Users Subscribe to Your Content

An RSS feed (usually /feed/ or /rss.xml) lets readers and tools subscribe to your content automatically.

Why it’s useful

  • Readers get notified when you publish new posts

  • Helps with email newsletters, aggregation tools, and automation

  • Useful for developers integrating your content

My experience

I added RSS so anyone can follow my posts easily — especially developers who prefer feed readers.

4. Privacy Policy — Required for Analytics and Search Tools

A privacy policy explains what data you collect and how users' information is handled.

Why it’s necessary

  • Required by Google Analytics

  • Required by many hosting and ad platforms

  • Builds user trust

  • Protects you legally

My experience

Even though my site is small, adding a privacy policy was important because I planned to integrate Google Analytics.

5. Google Search Console — Your Site’s Connection to Google Search

Google Search Console (GSC) is the most valuable free tool for website owners.

What it helps you do

  • See if Google indexes your site

  • Track search keywords

  • Monitor mobile usability

  • Find crawl or indexing errors

  • Submit your sitemap

My experience

Adding my site to GSC was one of the first things I did.
Immediately, I could see which pages were indexed and which needed attention.

6. Google Analytics (GA4) — Understanding Your Visitors

Google Analytics 4 helps you understand your audience and how people use your website.

What it shows you

  • Traffic sources (Google, social media, direct)

  • Popular pages

  • User behavior

  • Countries & devices

  • Growth over time

Why it’s important

You cannot improve what you cannot measure.
Analytics helps you make data-driven decisions.

My experience

Adding GA4 required:

  1. Creating a data stream

  2. Getting the Google tag

  3. Adding it into my Django <head>

  4. Setting up consent mode (explained next)

Once it was active, I could finally measure real visitors.

7. Consent Banner — Required for Tracking Compliance

Google now requires Consent Mode v2, which means you need a consent banner that asks visitors:

“Do you allow analytics cookies?”

Why it’s used

  • Legal requirement in many countries

  • Required for Google Analytics tracking

  • Protects user privacy

  • Prevents data collection without permission

How it works

You load GA4 with everything denied by default:


 

gtag('consent', 'default', { 'ad_storage': 'denied', 'ad_user_data': 'denied', 'ad_personalization': 'denied', 'analytics_storage': 'denied' });

Then, if users click “Accept”, you update their consent.

My experience

At first, I didn’t know why Google asked for a banner.
But once I understood that it keeps my site compliant, I added it immediately.

Final Thoughts — Why All These Steps Matter

If you’re launching your first website, these steps might feel “extra”.
But trust me — each one plays a specific role:

  • Sitemap helps Google discover your content

  • robots.txt guides search engine crawlers

  • RSS helps readers follow you

  • Privacy Policy keeps your site transparent & compliant

  • Google Search Console shows how Google sees your site

  • Google Analytics shows how users interact with your site

  • Consent banner ensures legal and Google compliance

Together, they make your website search-friendly, user-friendly, privacy-compliant, and ready to grow.

If you’re a beginner developer or first-time site owner, setting these up early will make your life easier and your site stronger.